Bernanke Says ‘Not Obvious’ Asset Prices Misaligned

Nov. 16 (Bloomberg) — Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said it’s “not obvious” that asset prices in the U.S. are out of line with underlying values after a 64 percent jump in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index from its March low.

“It is inherently extraordinarily difficult to know whether an asset’s price is in line with its fundamental value,” he said today in response to audience questions after a speech in New York. “It’s not obvious to me in any case that there’s any large misalignments currently in the U.S. financial system.”

The U.S. central bank chief didn’t address asset prices outside of the country. Financial officials in Japan and China, Asia’s two largest economies, said this week that the Fed’s interest-rate policy risks spurring speculative capital that may inflate asset prices and derail the global economic recovery.

“The best approach here if at all possible is to use supervisory and regulatory methods to restrain undue risk-taking and to make sure the system is resilient in case an asset-price bubble bursts in the future,” Bernanke said.

Bernanke said in his speech that the “headwinds” of reduced bank lending and a weak labor market will probably restrain the pace of the U.S. economic recovery, warranting continued low borrowing costs. Bernanke also said the Fed is “attentive” to changes in the dollar’s value and “will help ensure that the dollar is strong.”

Stocks in the U.S. extended gains after his comments, while the dollar slumped against the euro for a second day as traders doubted Bernanke can do much to bolster the currency.